Litigation Support

After 30+ years in the software business I am a practitioner with a strong business sense (see my resume.) I am not a professional expert witness, but I have received very positive feedback from clients.  I am particularly good at explaining complex concepts in non-technical terms, often by analogy. I really enjoy the work - interacting with clients, researching a report, being deposed and testifying in court.

Litigation support can take a lot of careful work, with continual reassessment. Clients sometimes need proof that the course of action they are considering is well-founded. I take a lot of care in what I say, and how I say it.

It is important to me that I, as an expert, be creditable.  I do that by only accepting cases that I am appropriate for, being thorough and methodical and remaining objective.  One attorney I worked with expressed the mindset very well.  "In any dispute, there is a range of reasonable interpretations and points of view.  An expert witness should be aware of points of view that are favorable and unfavorable to the client."

I have an extended network and have been successful in recruiting other experts with specific credentials. My expert witness services include:

• Claim Construction
• Copyright
• Deposition
• Expert Reports
• Intellectual Property
• Patent Analysis 
• Patent Litigation
• Pre-Litigation 
• Prior Art Research
• Product Failure
• Product Liability
• Technical Consultant
• Trade Secret
• Trial Testimony

Intellectual Property Infringement

I have worked on cases in which individuals have started businesses that compete with former employers, and cases where a product purportedly infringed on a patent.  I have compared software products written in dissimilar computer languages, sometimes reverse engineering one of the products, and use a variety of accepted techniques and software tools to develop a 'score card' quantifiying similarities.  I report on static analysis, run-time model, algorithms, user interface, execution environment and other factors.

As a practitioner, I have contributed to dozens of patents, and have filed many of my own.  I am familiar with the US patent process, and international patents to a lesser extent.

Contract Performance Disputes

I have reported on the degree to which contractors have used accepted industry best practices, and whether the deliverables have met the contractual requirements.  In order to do this I have developed a methodology and tools for failure analysis.  From an examination of the software artifacts, including source code, I am able to generate metrics about the software design and implementation, and how projects have progressed over time.  By comparing these metrics with accepted industry practice I am able to determine the degree to which a contractor has delivered a quality product.

Society of Forensic Engineers and Scientists

I presented at the quarterly meeting of The Society of Forensic Engineers and Scientists in March 2008. From the organization’s home page, the Society was “Organized to share forensic technical and business information, and to actively assist in upgrading the standards of the profession… membership is restricted to qualified professionals, voted upon by the membership. No student or associate membership is allowed.” My talk was entitled “Software IP Litigation Support”, and I spoke of my experience as an expert witness in the software field. The audience seemed to be quite interested, judging by the number of questions that were asked. About 35 members were in attendance, and I was asked to join the organization by several members. I have agreed to present a follow-on talk at a subsequent SFES quarterly meeting.